USDA. McDonald's ends slaughterhouse buys

FRESNO, Calif.  The federal government and McDonald's Corp. on Wednesday suspended purchases of meat from a California slaughterhouse under investigation for animal cruelty and possible health issues.

The suspensions occurred after an animal welfare group made a covert video showing cows that appeared to be sick or lame being beaten, kicked, shot and shocked in an attempt to get them to walk to slaughter at Central Valley Meat Co.

Federal officials say nothing they have seen so far in the video shows meat from cows that may have been sick made it into the food supply, but interviews with employees were ongoing.

The video was shot by an undercover operative for the group Compassion Over Killing who worked at the plant and also gave a written statement to the USDA about events not on tape.

"We do know that workers were trying to make non-ambulatory cows not eligible for slaughter go to slaughter," said Erica Meier, executive director of the animal welfare organization Compassion Over Killing. "We believe red flags are raised for sure with our video, but it's up to the USDA to decide."

The USDA bought 21 million pounds of beef from Central Valley Meat Co. in 2011 for the national school lunch and other federal food programs.

Records show the government made five large-scale purchases of ground and chunk beef, spending more than $50 million of the total $135 allocated by the government for such acquisitions that year.

USDA spokesman Justin DeJong said he did not know to which government food programs the beef was provided. The meat generally goes to the national school lunch program and food distribution on Indian reservations, and is available for discount purchases by community food banks.

"The department works to ensure that product purchased for the federal feeding programs meets stringent food safety standards and that processors comply with humane handling regulations," the USDA said in a statement.

McDonald's also said it had suspended purchases of meat from the slaughterhouse. The company did not immediately say how much meat it had been buying.

The video prompted the National Cattlemen's Beef Association to issue a statement.

"We firmly believe that those knowingly and willfully committing any abuse to animals should not be in the business - period," Dave Daley, a professor at California State University, Chico, said in the statement released by the marketing group. "The actions depicted in these videos are disgraceful and not representative of the cattle community."